Stephen&nbspTandy

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Full Name

Stephen Peter Tandy

Background

From the Auckland City Harbour News 14th December 2007 The teenage victim of a vicious pack rape is urging other victims to speak out. The 17-year-old saw two of her attackers sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday. She says the sentencing will help her move on with her life.

"I want to encourage other women to speak up and be heard, rather than keeping it quiet, because it’s wrong," she says. "If we all start talking, it will show everyone it shouldn’t happen." The girl was 14 and had run away from home when she was raped in a shed in Pt Chevalier in 2004.

The offenders had offered her and a friend a place to stay and given them alcohol. Dessaleng Tayie, 23, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for rape and three counts of sexual violation. Yonas Alebachew, 22, received four years for being party to rape by encouragement and being party to sexual violation by encouragement.

Blockhouse Bay man Junior Inoke, 20, will be sentenced in February because his lawyer was unaware the sentencing date had been brought forward and was unprepared. Inoke was convicted of being party to rape by encouragement and three counts of sexual violation.

Judge Graham Hubble said the victim was "totally inexperienced, both sexually and with alcohol". "She was lost, a waif on the streets." "The young men purported to rescue her and grossly misused her." Tayie’s sentence took into account his own background of sexual abuse and remorse shown. Judge Hubble told Alebachew he knew what was going on and should have stopped the attack.

"What was going on in that shed was quite horrendous." Tayie was also sentenced to two months in prison for a drink driving charge. It is due to run concurrently with his 11-year sentence.

Glen Eden man Stephen Tandy, 20, was the only offender to plead guilty. He was sentenced last month to eight years for rape and sexual assault. His earlier six-and-a-half year sentence was increased after an appeal by the solicitor-general. Tandy’s lawyer has applied for leave to appeal the sentence through the Supreme Court.

From the Auckland City Harbour News 7th September 2007 A teenage girl raped by four men in Pt Chevalier is relieved to see one of them finally behind bars. The victim, 14 at the time of the incident in 2004, was in court to see Stephen Tandy jailed for six-and-a-half years for his part in the attack. The 20-year-old from Glen Eden was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one charge of rape and one of indecent assault during a trial in July. The teen, who can't be identified, says Judge Graham Hubble's sentence is 'pretty good' and she's glad Tandy will be in prison, 'where he can't do this to anyone else'. The North Shore resident didn't look at Tandy as he stood in the dock, but decided being in court would give her a sense of closure.

She plans to be there when the other three men, Junior Inoke, of Blockhouse Bay , and Dessaleng Tayie and Yonas Alebachen, both no fixed abode, who were convicted of rape and related charges at the trial, are sentenced on October 19. "It will be easier once it?s all over," she says. Judge Hubble says the victim had run away from home with a friend on the night of the attack. The two were 'waif-like', wandering around Auckland when they ran into one of the men, who offered them a place to stay. They bought alcohol and the victim, who had no experience of drinking, got 'extremely drunk'. "She was at the extreme end of vulnerability," Judge Hubble says. They went to a shed, where Tandy and some of his friends started fondling the victim, before she was taken outside by one man and 'viciously raped'. When she returned, Tandy asked her if she had been raped, before raping her himself.

Crown prosecutor Danielle Hauer says the victim's long-lasting trauma has affected her sleep, self-image and schooling, causing problems with friendships, ongoing phobias and alcohol abuse. Ms Hauer says the victim had run away from home and did not know where she was. She was relying on Tandy and his friends for a place to sleep. Defence lawyer Paul Heaslip says Tandy felt remorse for the crime, as shown by his guilty plea early in the trial. He says during an initial interview with the police Tandy denied any involvement, because he was drinking heavily and did not remember it. When his memory returned and he heard the victim's evidence, he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Judge Hubble says he took into account Tandy's young age at the time of the crime and his early guilty plea.

From the Auckland City Harbour News, Wednesday, 24th October 2007 A man convicted for his part in a pack rape on a 14-year-old girl in Pt Chevalier may have his six-and-a-half-year jail sentence increased. The solicitor-general is pushing for a tougher term for Stephen Tandy, 20, and has put a case before the Court of Appeal.

Tandy, of Glen Eden, was sentenced last month on one charge of rape and one of sexual assault for the 2004 incident after an early guilty plea. The three other rapists, Junior Inoke, Dessaleng Tayie and Yonas Alebachen, were due to be sentenced last Friday but the hearing was put off until February. Crown prosecutor Danielle Hauer says the outcome of the appeal may affect sentences handed down to the other three.

If the appeal goes in the Crown's favour, the other three may also face more jail time. Ms Hauer says it's rare for the solicitor-general to launch such an appeal. The victim says she's 'a wee bit annoyed' with the extra six-month wait to see her attackers behind bars, but says it will be worth it if they get longer sentences.

Inoke of Blockhouse Bay, and Tayie and Alebachen of no fixed abode were all convicted of rape. Inoke was also convicted on three counts of unlawful sexual connection, while Tayie and Alebachen were each convicted on one count of that charge. They are due to be sentenced at the Auckland District Court on February 13

Alias

Date of Birth

1987 (D.O.B. is approximate)

Offences

Current Location

Unknown

Three Strikes Status

Nil

Victims

Offender Affiliations

Junior Inoke Dessaleng Tayie Yonas Alebachen

Gang Affiliations

Parole

Sentenced to 6 years 6 months in September 2007 Later increased on appeal to 8 years in December 2007 Eligible for parole February 2010